Cavitation can be a serious problem...

Cavitation is defined on Wikipedia as: ﻿﻿The formation of vapour cavities in a liquid – i.e. small liquid-free zones ("bubbles" or "voids") – that are the consequence of forces acting upon the liquid. It usually occurs when a liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure that cause the formation of cavities where the pressure is relatively low. When subjected to higher pressure, the voids implode and can generate an intense shock wave. Cavitation is a significant cause of wear in some engineering contexts.

We had a customer bring in their 7.3 with a coolant leak on the front cover. Our mechanic was concerned it could be a cavitation issue. We have seen cavitation wipe out an entire engine. Thankfully, that was not the case for this customer.

The front cover showed minor signs of cavitation in the water pump mounting surface and the water pump impeller cavity. The oil cooler was found to be leaking at the seals and the exhaust manifolds had 2 broken bolts. The customer opted to have those repairs made as well while the engine was out. Taking care of all 3 items at the same time helped to save the customer on labor expense in the future.

Source credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavitation

We have seen some extreme cooling package issues and

Proper coolant maintenance can go a long way...

Our shop recommends coolant flush every 2 years or 50,000 miles. Ford sells a coolant additive that helps to reduce cavitation in the Super Duty.Test strips are available to check the pH of your coolant. Improper pH creates a bigger risk for cavitation.Remember when filling your coolant to use the proper ratio of water to antifreeze and use distilled water. Tap and well water can throw off your coolants pH.If you ever find yourself in a situation where you must add tap or well water to your coolant, be sure to have your coolant completely flushed as soon as possible.Remember to regularly check your coolant. Make sure to check only when your engine is completely cooled. A hot radiator cap can blow off and cause severe burns if checked when hot or under pressure.

Does your 6.0 have any of the following:

The fitting on the right is the stock OEM STC fitting, which is 2 pieces. The part on the left is the updated OEM fitting, a solid one piece part.

Hard starting overnight

Rough start up

Long cranks when truck is hot

These are the symptoms of a blown or leaking STC fitting.The difficult job for the owner of the truck is knowing if this fitting is the cause of your symptoms as this part shows no visible leaks when needing repair, the part is internal on top of engine.

The job of the STC fitting is to supply high pressure oil to injectors between high pressure pump and branch tube. Most common result of blown STC fitting is no start. 3200 psi from pump can blow the original 2 piece fitting off.

If you're lucky and replace the fitting before it leaves you stranded then the typical replacement of the STC fitting requires:Remove turbo, intake manifold, remove high pressure oil pump cover, remove pump and fitting. Replace STC fitting and align with installation tool. Reinstall pump with new fitting. Install manifold and turbo. Usually our shop will charge 6-8 hours for this job alone. Our labor will include any other updates that are due in the same area, if they have not already been preformed. Other updates to consider for the 6.0 are the turbo oil feed and drain line.

A customers' 6.0 died at stoplight and wouldn’t start. The truck was towed in to MDS. Mechanic hooked up our scan tool to diagnose no start. The oil pressure was not building to the minimum required starting pressure of 500psi. Tore down top of engine and found STC fitting was blown. Really, really blown. So bad it left it's imprint on the rear cover of the engine.

You can see a crack in the cover to the left of the imprint

So, for this job MDS had to add some additional steps and quite a bit of labor to take care of this STC fitting.Total time for this job was 19-20 hours on a 2 wheel drive Ford.

The transmission and flexplate had to be removed to gain access to the rear cover bolts to replace and reseal the cover. 4 wheel drive would add time to remove the additional drive shaft and transfer case.

What a normal rear cover looks like- no imprint!

View of rear of a 6.0 engine where the branch tube is situated

The original STC fitting went from 2 piece to a solid fitting. An early update added a metal bracket to the fitting. This has been sperceded by the one piece fitting. Oil feed line originally had braided steel section and new line is solid metal pipe. Turbo drain is now larger for faster/non-restricted flow of oil

This is the first in a series on routine maintenance. These posts will cover basic maintenance that applies to all trucks.

Trucks of all varieties need regular maintenance

The Ford Super Duty is no exception. Our customer with a 2003 6.0 super duty came in with the request to change his alternator. When we double-checked the volts on the alternator with our multimeter, the results were obvious, this truck was in need of an alternator. The alternator should be putting out more volts than the battery has, in order to keep the battery charged. If the alternator is generating the same or less than the battery charge, then it is time to change the alternator. Other signs that it is time to change the alternator are:

A red warning light on dash

Intermittent red warning light on dash

Dim lights- most often you will notice the headlights are dim, sometimes the interior lights will also dim

Slow cranking

Dead batteries

Before replacing the alternator the battery charge must be 12.5 volts. The alternator acts as a voltage maintainer, it is not a battery charger. If your battery is dead to begin with you will over work the brand new alternator, or it may not work at all!

The voltage regulator (a component of the alternator) needs to be controlling the voltage output between 13.5 and 14.2 volts with the engine on and no load. This range will ensure your battery is charged correctly. Another cause to replace your alternator would be if the voltage regulator is overcharging your batteries, causing them to spew acid. In this case the readings on the alternator would register over 14.5 volts.Nearly all vehicles run on a 12 Volt system and the above standards apply, including all size trucks, semis, cars, motorcycles and boats.Updated 2/21/14